GUILTY VILLANS
Cherries hand out a harsh lesson to Heaton
THIS served as a harsh reminder for Aston Villa that in the unforgiving environment of the Premier League you really cannot afford any lapses of concentration.
Errors — even seemingly innocuous ones — are often punished in a ruthless manner in the top-flight that they wouldn’t be in the Championship.
Bournemouth can hardly be described as Premier League stalwarts — this is just their fifth season — but they are hardened competitors at this standard and made Villa pay for their mistakes.
The first guilty party was goalkeeper Tom Heaton, whose home debut went pear-shaped inside 90 seconds when he fouled Callum Wilson for a penalty Joshua King converted.
And after Douglas Luiz, another summer arrival, inexplicably dummied a pass infield and allowed it to run to long-shot specialist Harry Wilson 25 yards from goal, Bournemouth were in firm command.
Villa went on to dominate the game for long periods and one consolation for manager Dean Smith was that despite their £130million s u mmer o v e r h a u l they have retained the creative streak that helped them win promotion.
They were kept at bay by the excellent Bournemouth keeper Aaron Ramsdale and some dogged defending by Nathan Ake and Steve Cook. But by the time Douglas partially atoned with a 25-yard thunderbolt, the damage had been inflicted. Or, rather, self-inflicted.
‘Two-nil down inside 10 minutes in our first Premier League game at Villa Park for a while is a very hard place to s t a r t , ’ S mi t h lamented.
It certainly managed to puncture the party atmosphere inside the stadium, where the faithful had waited three years for the return of top-flight football.
There was barely a minute on the clock when Callum Wilson burst into the Villa penalty area, touching the ball a fraction before Heaton could get to it. Wilson was actually heading away from goal and an experienced international goalkeeper like Heaton could easily have shepherded him out of play. Instead, he sent Wilson to the turf with a clumsy trip.
Referee Martin Atkinson saw no need to involve the VAR and King sent Heaton the wrong way with a composed penalty.
Villa were once again the architects of their own downfall 10 minutes later. Trezeguet played a square pass from the right and Douglas stepped over it in the belief a team- mate was behind him.
It fell to the worst possible player from Villa’s point of view, given Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson’s penchant for the spectacular. He needed a meaty deflection off Tyrone Mings to beat Heaton but Villa looked down and out. ‘That’s natural for him and he will do that without me giving him licence,’ said Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe of the young Welshman’s abilities. ‘It is a massive asset and strength of his so you wouldn’t want him to suddenly change that.’
More pleasing for Villa fans was their strong response and the number of chances they carved out. Ramsdale — who started preseason as Bournemouth’s fourth choice keeper but impressed Howe so much he has played the opening two games — saved low down from John McGinn and one-handed from Wesley.
‘ I was really impressed,’ said Howe of the 21-year-old. ‘It wasn’t just the saves he made, it was the way he controlled his box, the decisions he made, when to punch and catch.’
Ake was immense at the heart of Bournemouth’s defence and made a crucial block to deny Trezeguet after Wesley pulled the ball back.
Smith was left frustrated that Philip Billing, Bournemouth’s £15m summer signing from relegated Huddersfield, wasn’t sent off for a succession of untidy tackles just before half-time.
Billing was shown a yellow card for a challenge on McGinn, then got away with an ugly one on Jack Grealish and Howe decided it would be best to withdraw the Dane at the break. ‘He should have been sent off, there’s no doubt about that,’ said the Villa boss. ‘I don’t think Martin [Atkinson] probably had his best game today.’
There was little Ramsdale could do about Villa’s goal, scored by Douglas with 19 minutes left.
Fed the ball by Grealish, the £12.5m signing from Manchester City picked out the top corner in spectacular style, but the strike was scant consolation for Villa.